Kokoro
by mochiloch
Summary: In the Japanese language, one word stands for Heart, mind, and spirit... RyanSeth slash would I write about anyone else? lol someone comes back from the dead, someone goes through hell, someone can still be an Icy b...
1. Run, Ryan, Run

A/N: Hiya! So, my first O.C. fic, and let me tell you how much fun I had plotting all of this in my head. It's a little scattered, but that's only because I went into it head-over-heals. But, rest assured, that the next chapter will be planned, with well-placed dialogue, and some more action. This is basically a collague of all of my favorite movies, but O.C. style! well, enjoy (I hope) and PULEEEZ review...it's the only thing that keeps me going in the darkness...until I flip my light switch on...

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"How did you find me?"

"I've always known where to find you..."

"...What are you doing here?"

"..."

"I thought you were dead..."

"Obviously I'm not, Ry, or else I wouldn't be standing here, talking to you."

Seth reached over and ran his warm palm down Ryan's cheeck. Ryan leaned into it, missing that familiar touch - no one else had even come close to Seth's touch. It seemed alienated though, not feeling it for some time. It seemed...worn. Hard. Distant. And in spite of all these things, it was still warm.

There they sat, alone, in the dim red light of the motel, on the bed, together like Ryan had dreamed of so many times, but now under different circumstances. The situation was completely different...people had died to make this moment for the two of them.

Ryan didn't know whether he wanted to pull away, or push further into him. Him. He was actually here this time...But that wasn't right. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be.

"I watched you die, Seth. I held you in my arms until you just...stopped."

Seth looked into Ryan's eyes, deeply, knowing what he must have been through. He gave Ryan only a warm smile, and stroked Ryan's hair with one hand.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But I'm here now." Seth assured him, leaning in and taking Ryan's lips upon his own, moving him into a deep kiss. This time, Ryan did pull away.

He looked long and hard, searching Seth's face. This was Seth, he was sure of this, though he may not have been sure of anything else. How? This question nagged in the back of his head.

"Ryan..." Seth said his name, so sincerely, that Ryan almost couldn't resist but kiss his lost love one more time, but he needed answers. All events of that night, not long ago, were playing through his mind at lightning speed.

§-----------------§

Ryan was lying in his bed, waiting for him. Seth had once told Ryan that he had trademarked shorts, and a wife beater, and he was correct, seeing as he was wearing the two now. Seth said he'd be in the pool-house a half an hour ago. What was taking him so long?

Ryan remembered how excited he sounded on the phone. He said he had something to show him. However, he was at a loss. What was it Seth wanted him to see? There wasn't anything he wanted at the time, and he didn't remember Seth mentioning anything to him before.

He smiled to himself, thinking about how Seth could make no sense whatsoever. It was just over a year now, that they had been "openly" together, and it wasn't easy getting to that point. He remembered Kirsten and Sandy's reactiong to the whole situation, and he didn't care to go through that again.

With graduation in only a few weeks, however, he had been meaning to talk to Seth. He was worried. They had tried to get into the same school, but both accepted into different colleges posed an obsticle to their relationship.

Ryan wanted to talk to Seth, because he was going to give him a choice; They could try to work out a long-distance relationship, or they could...Thinking the last part tore at him inside, but be that as it may, it needed to be said.

Just then, he felt a vibration in his pant pocket. He pulled the small phone out and looked at the screen on it's face. It was Seth. He flipped the face, and answered the call.

"Seth, where the hell have you been? I've been down in the pool-house fore a half an hour now." he said. He was about to go on, but heard heavy breathing. Something was wrong.

"Seth?" He asked.

"Ry...you've gotta help me Ry!" he pleaded, panick clearly ledgible in his tone. Ryan sat up immediately, and felt his muscles tighten, ready to take flight for him.

"Where are you Seth?" he asked.

"I-I'm at the corner of Monroe near the Mall in a phone-booth. There's a guy here-he's gonna kill me Ry!" he shouted.

Ryan was confused now, and had no clue of what to do.

"Who is he? What's he want!" Ryan asked, standing.

"He wants 100,000$. I don't know who he is, but you've gotta find some way to get it Ry, cause he's serious..." He told him. He said something else, but Ryan wasn't able to translate it's incohearancies. He could hear that Seth was crying - he was truly scared.

Knowing that Seth was scared, in turn, scared Ryan, to the pit of his chest. His hands grew cold, his knees felt like they were going to give out on him, and he could feel his heart begin to race.

"Put the guy on the phone Seth." He told him, after gainging his voice back. He heard some indistinct noise, and then he heard a new voice.

"What?" the guy said, his voice deep, harsh...cold.

"What do you want with Seth?" Ryan demanded.

"His legacy owes me money."

"His dad?"

"Not quite. An old friend of mine who has a tendency to STAB people as soon as they turn around!"

Caleb. It was the first and only name that had come into Ryan's head. His mind was racing through Idea's, trying to think of what to do.

"So, I want what's owed to me. 100, 000 dollars will get you your friend's life, but only if it's here on time..." he said.

"When do you want it?" Ryan shouted, hearing no reply. Then he heard a gunshot, and a lot of shouting.

"He just shot a fucking COP!" he heard Seth scream. The hairs on Ryan's arms were standing on end now. He had never felt this scared before in his life, and he knew why he felt like he did: Seth was in vital danger.

"Ryan, he wants the money in thirty minutes...he said to meet him at The Wave, that clothing store on the other side of town..." Seth replied, before breaking down again, crying.

"Seth! I'm coming, okay? Just hold on for me..." he said, and then he heard the other end click. Ryan immediately dropped his phone, and ran his hands through his hair. He was rushing through names. Who could he get that much money from in twenty minutes?

Sandy...Kirsten...Marrisa...Summer...Luke...Sandy...Caleb...Summer...Caleb...Caleb...

"Caleb!" He said.

He ran through the glass doors, and out of the poolhouse. He needed to borrow the car-sorry Sandy, he thought. He ran across the large lawn, around and to the drive way, only to see his luck getting worse: Sandy and Kirsten were leaving, and already heading down the road.

He sprinted, chasing after them while flailing his arms, but they didn't see them. He had to get to Caleb. Where would he be at this time of day? He glanced at his watch. 1:02. 28 minutes left. At this time of day, he would probably be in his office. He had no other choice - he'd have to run there.

He began to run once more, faster than he'd ever tried. He ran past building after building, passing person after person. He didn't even care who he'd bump into, but he'd already hit two people. But he couldn't stop and apologize, they'd never understand.

His lungs were straing, his legs were burning, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't. If he did, Seth would die. This amped his will power, and he continued to run.

Summer sat under the large umbrella, thinking to herslef. She absent mindedly sipped at her water as she flipped through her magazine. It was a nice day, which was why she chose to come here, to her favorite resaurant. She even decicded to eat at an outside table, but her salad had been sitting untouched for a while now.

This was exactly what she needed. Just to get away from all of the complications of the normal turn of events. This, however, did not seem to be in her daily schedule, as she was about to be part of yet another person's drama.

The she heard car screeches not far from her. Then she faintly hear 'Watch where you're goin' ass-hole!'.

'Must've been the driver..' she thought to herself. She glance up, and saw what she didn't expect. There was Chino, running his ass off like she'd never seen. She couldn't believe she actually saw him. After all, he never really came to this part of town.

Ryan could only see blurred faces as he ran, but then he heard a voice.

"Chino! Hey!" he hear. Without thinking, he turned and saw Summer leaning over the rail to some restaraunt, calling after him. However, this was a bad idead, because his turn, at that speed, caused his to loose control, and he went down to a Hindenburg crash in the middle of the street.

He felt as the warm gravel scrapped into him, and he finally came rolling to a halt. His whole body now ached, and his skin stung where he was cut. He groaned before sitting up, and rubbing his neck.

"Hey Chino!" He heard. He glanced to his right, watching Summer walk up to him.

"Trying to kill yourself, or training for the Olympics?" she asked him. "You look like shit.." she told him.

He struggled, standing up and straightening his back. He looked at his watch, which was now useless. Its face was busted in and it showed nothing now. Now he didn't know how much time he had left.

"You need a ride somewhere?" Summer asked him. He looked at her, and since his ability to converse was out of the question, since his lungs were aching as well, he only nodded.

He limped with her to her (expensive, no doubt) black car. She walked casually walked over to the driver's side, and then stood there, fiddling with a nail.

"Summer, could you concentrate?" he asked, his tone a little more biting than he intended. She scoffed at him, and unlocked both doors. He quickly climbed inside, and shut the door behind him. She then climbed in, and put the keys into the ignition.

"So what's got you all bitchy Chino?" she asked, starting the car. He only shook his head.

"Seth. He needs me right now. No time to explain, just step on it." he told her. They sat there for a few seconds, before he looked at her.

"Why aren't we driving?" He asked, trying to keep his voice civil.

"Well, I would, but I do need to get a general Idead of where to go." she smirked. He only groaned again, and leaned his head back.

"Caleb's building."

"Really? Well, I can get us there as fast as you want me to, but I'd suggest buckling up."

"Don't worry about my belt - just get there as fast as you can get this thing to go!"

"Oh, Chino, you don't know how happy you've made me. I have been waiting for a moment to let this baby rip!"

At this, she floor it. The tires screeched on the pavement and it finally flew. In fact, flew was an understatement. He would swear that when they stopped, they would be in another time.

His eyes, now rather large, slowly turned to summer, who had a very wide, cheshire grin on her face. He was regreting not taking her advice on buckling up. He then glanced to here keys, which had a bone-chilling expression. It read;

SO MANY PEDESTRIANS,

SO LITTLE TIME...

Had he seen this, he might have turned down the offer of a ride. They swurved, corner after corner, leaving white smoke wherever they went. She manuvered car after car, gaining speed.

Finally, the whole car ground to a halt, and Ryan realized that he had a death grip on the seatbelt.

"Well, here we are - And, um, you can let go of my hand now." she said.

He glanced dow to his left hand, which had logged itself into her right hand, which was gripping the stick-shift.

"...thanks..." he said. He tried to stand up, but found that he had lost all balance.

"I'll just wait out here for you" she smiled. He knew that she was being more friendly/buddy-buddy since she found out about he and Seth - he never figured out why, but sometimes her hospitality was blood cringingly horrifying. Mcuh so like her driving.

Ryan then remembered why he was here. Seth. He ran inside the two front lobby doors, and ran to the Private Elevator.

"Hey!" the secratary at the front desk shouted. "You can't just waltz into an executive office without an appointment." she said. Ryan turned to face her.

"Oh! Sorry Mr. Atwood, I didn't see it was you." she said.

"It's okay, Lucy." He said. He ran to the large, metal doors and looked to the keeper of the keys. He was not in the mood to deal with her. The one person he had to get by, for she had the key to the elevator, was the security gaurd, Michelle.

"Ah, my angel's here at last." she said. She was a hort woman, but thin enough to be a cat-walk model. She had long, red hair and two larg green eyes.

"You don't look so good. Actually, you look like shit. Been having a rough morning?" she asked, beeming at him. He didn't return the smile, but he was used to her flirting.

"I need to see Caleb." he told her.

"I bet I know why you're tired." she began, as she put the key into the key-hole, beside the doors, and twisted it. "Because you've been running through my mind aaall day, sweet checks." she told him, giving him a pinch on his left cheeck before he jumped into the elevator.

"Sorry, Michelle, still with Seth." He told her. He shifted her hips.

"Oh, you'll switch back to the other team again, and I'll be waiting with the bat." she winked, showing him her hand-cuffs. He cringed as the doors closed.

He stepped forward, and pressed the button at the very top. He felt the lage compartment jerk, then begin lifting. He hoped he wasn't going top be late. Seth...he had never heard him that scared before. It was flattering that he called Ryan first, but this was all too much to take in.

He felt the elevator stop, and the doors opened. He entered into the small waiting room, where Caleb's asistant sat behind her desk. Ryan had always liked this room, for it was full of antique weaponry. Especially the three Katana that hung by Caleb's door.

"Is he in his office?" Ryan asked her. She glanced up from her files, to see him in his, er, "shabby" glory. He looked a mess.

"He is in a meeting at the moment." she snapped. Well, Ryan really could care less at the moment, but if Caleb knew the situation, he would be more than willing to cooperate.

He walked towards the door when she jumped up to block him, going on about him being busy, but it went in one ear and out of the other.

Ryan had gotten to the door anyway, and opened the door to his office. Inside, about four other men, dressed in expensive looking business suits sat around a large round table.

They all jumped and turned their head toward Ryand and his assistant. Caleb stood up from his seat, and looked in what was either anger or confusion.

"I am sorry, sir, but he would'nt listen to reason-"

"Hey Caleb." Ryan said.

"Ryan. What are you doing here?" He said, in the stern way that he usually did.

"I need to talk to you." he said, glancing to the clock above his head. 1:10.

Caleb, excused himself, and the other men promptly stood and left without any words. And, Caleb's assistant shut the door behind them all.

"You look like shit." he told him. Ryan was begining to think that this phrase was getting a little redundant. However, he had no time to think about that right now.

"What is it?" He asked. He was a little more warmer than usual today, so he had a good shot at getting this over with quickly.

"I don't have time to explain, I just need you to trust me." Ryan said, walking up to his desk. Caleb leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"I'm listening." he said.

"I need money." Ryan told him.

"A job's good."

"Fine! I'll get a job, but I need money now!"

Caleb looked long and hard at him, and then just sighed. He leaned forward, pulled out his wallet. He opened it, flipping through it.

"How much do you need?" he said. Ryan looked at the hundred dollar bills, and just shook his head.

"Way way more!" he said. Caleb looked up into his face, and gave his the most undistinguishable look, but whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Beggars can't be choosers." he told Ryan.

"It's for Seth."

"Why can't he come and get it from me himself?"

"He's in a lot of trouble!"

"Ryan, go home. I can't deal with your childish games right now..." Caleb said. Ryan couldn't believe he had just said that. Seth was his own blood! But what else could he do? As it appeared to him, he was defeated. Seth was the only thing on his mind as he walked out of the office.

He couldn't believe it. For a moment, time seemed to stop, as he thought about Seth. He had to do something to save his boyfriend, but what?

"Well, you can't always leech off of your family." that bitch smirked as he came out, looking beaten down. He looked to her victorious expression. He loved Seth, and he wasn't about to lose his so easily.

He walked to the wall, and took down the meanest looking katana there.

"H-hey! You can't just-" She began, put piped down and sat wordlessly when Ryan withdrew the blade. He looked the blade up and down, and saw that it was sharp enough to get his point across to that old bastard.

He kicked in the door the the office once more, and walked up to Caleb.

"What the hell do you want now?" Caleb demanded, then he saw the blade. "Ryan, think about what you're doing..."

Ryan lifted it up and brought the sword down into Caleb's desk, cutting through. It really was sharper than Ryan had expected.

"I want you to know I'm serious. Seth is gonna die unless I have that money, and you're going to give it to me." Ryan said, his eyes deadly.

Caleb then smirked. The boy was obviously bluffing. He may have the tough guy look to him, but inside, he knew that Ryan would never really hurt anyone.

"Boy, you aren't getting a penny out of me. You've been borrowing money from here and there for the past two years, and it's not gonna happen anymore." Caleb told him.

"Yeah, but those times weren't that much money - just enough to do something nice for Sandy and Kirsten, or for Seth!" he said. Caleb shook his head and glared. The boy didn't seem to follow orders, i.e., leaving.

"Alright, Ryan, you don't want to hurt anyone, right?" he heard Michelle say. That front-desk-witch must've called her. He turn, only to be met with a gun pointed right at his chest. then, he glanced at the mirror to the right of the office door, and saw the clock face. 1:15.

"O-okay!" Ryan said, sitting the sword down, and kicking it toward her. She then bent down to pick it up, and this was his chance.

He dove at the first opportunity toward her left hand, the hand that held the gun. Him flying toward her caught her off-guard, she jumped back, but his hands were already clenching the weapon.

But he didn't have to struggle, for she had let go. When Ryan stood straight up, he looked down to her lying on the ground, and saw her with her hands up as he pointed the gun. However, he couldn't waste time with her.

He swung his arms around and pointed at Caleb.

"You're coming with me." he stated. Caleb only stood there frozen.

"Ryan, think about your future. You don't want to do this, after all, you don't know how to use that thing." she told him, begining to stand.

He knew what she refurred to when she said he didn't know how to use it, but he did. He clicked the safety latch down, off, and shot at the wall beside Caleb's head.

"Now! Move!" he ordered, and Caleb sheepishly, yet quickly, came around the desk. Ryan grabbed his arm, and put the gun to his neck.

"I need 100,000$ now." Ryan said, leading Caleb to the elevator.

Ryan remembered n one of Seth and his little bed-talk sessions...

"Ryan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think...nah, it's a stupid question..."

"What Seth?"

"Just forget about it."

"You already got me curious, finish the question now, or I'll use sex as a weapon for future reffurance..."

"You wouldn't dare hold sex from me."

"Watch me."

"Alright, alright. I was just gonna ask...if...you loved me?"

"Love you?"

"See? It's a stupid question."

"Seth, it's not a stupid question."

"So?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, you're bisexual, and i'm just a full-blown guy chaser."

"Nice choice of words."

"Anyway, it would be so much easier for you not to be judged by everyone if you just found some girl to fuck on a regular basis."

"I don't see where you're goin' with your point."

"Why are you with me?"

"Hmm...I like your company."

"That's it? Well, what if I die, or become a vegetable? You'll just go find some young hott thing with huge tits and big, blue eyes and just forget about me - the end of Seth."

"Seth, first of all, if I wanted blue eyes, I wouldn't be in your bed right now."

"But you get my meaning. So, I still pose the question?"

"Seth...you're not about to die..."

Ryan watched the elevator doors close in front of him and Caleb. Seth had asked if he loved him, and he never gave him an answer. Well, here he was, holding Seth's grandfather at gunpoint, robbing a major company, possibly facing life in prison if he pulled the trigger, all for him. Not to mention he ran - his - ass - off for Seth. This had better answer Seth's question.

The doors opened, once more, and they were back in the lobby. He lead Caleb over to Lucy, and walked up to her desk.

"Oh hello Mr - OH MY GOD!" she said, seeing the gun.

"Lucy, buzz the vault please." Ryan said, staring at the huge, thick, metal vault that stood behind her. She was frozen to her spot, unable to make a move.

"Now!" he yelled. Everyone else in the lobby was now silent, and on the ground. She nodded, pulling a key from under her emerald green sweater.

She inserted the long, silver neck into a small, metal case on her desk, and twisted. The lock flew open, revealing a small, black button. She lifted her index finger, and slowly pressed it.

A loud sound, like the sound of water pressure being released, was echoed, and Ryan quickly walked around into the vault, dragging the old man with him.

"Okay, Lucy, I need you to put a hundred-thousand dollars into a bag for me please." he instructed, and she walked past him further into the large cell. Seth. Just hold on. Ryan turned around and searched for anything to see the time. He saw the main clock of the company, a large built-into-the-wall clock.

It had a polished marble face, and long arms, the short hand being about as tall as Ryan himself, if not taller. He was running out of time. 1:18.

"Lucy, I really need you to hurry with that!" he told her, impatiently.

"Ryan," Caleb began "It's not too late to turn back now...think about your future..." he said, as he tried to snake a bargain into a deal. Ryan remained silent for a few moments, before finally replying.

"Seth needs me." he said. Caleb rolled his eyes.

"You honestly want me to believe you're this worried about the boy? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love him with all my heart - after all, he's my grandson. But you? We both know he's just your little 'Curious George' toy. You'll go right back to that marrisa girl, and forget about Seth."

Caleb made what he thought clear. He didn't believe there could be something between Ryan and Seth. And, had these events not happened, Ryan would have agreed that he was unsure about how he felt about Seth. But after the last 18 minutes, Ryan had come to an epiphany: He was in love with Seth.

He couldn't imagine life without him. He wanted to see his twinkling brown eyes, his face, his touch...He even loved that slight little lisp thing he did (which he never noticed before they had spent that night together).

"Here you are." Lucy said, handing him the plastic bag of money. Ryan then poush Caleb against the wall, held the gun to his neck, and stood there, seeing the real Caleb, and his fear.

"Let me set you straight now. I LOVE Seth. I would take on the entire world for him if I had to-and don't let me hear you talk that way again!" he warned him, eyes flashing, and push him away.

He looked to Lucy, and then back to Caleb.

"See you 'round." he said before running straight for the main doors.

Ryan ran straight outside, into the sunlight, only to find a very unwelcoming sight. There, before him, was the entire S.W.A.T. squad, waiting for him, rifles ready. Behind him, nine police cars were parked, each with four officers behind the doors, guns ready and aimed.

"Shit..." were the only words that Ryan let flow.

"Hey kid!" one of them whispered. He was having his hand to the side.

"Move out of the way! Don't you know there's a robbey happening? You wanna get killed?" he shouted. Then. ryan was snatched, or rather tackled, from the side, and guided to the side of the building by on of the S.W.A.T. members.

"I you know what's good for you, you won't get in the way of a bust again." he said before standing and walking away. Ryan only nodded slowly, not believing his luck.

"This is the Police! We have you surrounded!" he heard them say through the mega phone. But he had no time to listen to that right now.

Do to the inconvenience, Summer was no where to be found. Ryan had just watched his luck take kamikaze.

"FUCK!" he yelled, kicking the wall.

"God, Chino, calm down a little, will you?" he heard someone say. He turned to see summer, standing there with hands on hips.

"What's in the bag?" she asked.

"100,000 dollars..."

"Holy shit! You're the one who robbed the place?" she shouted. He shushed her, holding his hands up and looking around. Her car was across the street, parked. He ran towards it, followed by her (though slowly, seeing as she was in one of her best pairs of heels)

He immediatly opened the passenger side door, and saw the time on the radio face. 1:21

"Summer," he said, almost in a whisper. "I have about nine minutes and thirty to forty seconds to get all the way across town. We're surrounded by cops, and you're escorting the culprit to the robbery. Are you with me?"

Summer looked at him, and smiled.

"Chino, I spent alotta mula on this baby, and this is the only chance I'll get to let it fly." She said, turning the car on, letting it roar, and then flooring the gas. Ryan, luckily, had put his seat belt on this time.

The time was now edging. Ryan was panicking, sweating, his heart racing. All he could think of was last night, when him and Seth were lying in Ryan's bed in the poolhouse.

"Hey Ry?" Seth said. The two were lying still, Seth being held by Ryan. He shifted under Ryan's arm, resting his head on his shoulder.

"Hmm?" Ryan said, though he was drifting off. He was exhausted, the day he'd had.

"Tired?" Seth laughed. "I guess that's a miss for me on sex tonight." he laughed. Ryan, however, didn't reply.

Seth snuggled closer, listening to Ryan breath, hearing his heart beat. Ryan's warmth was comforting on the sidf of Seth's face.

"Well, it was been almost two weeks since the last time, you can't blame me for asking/ Oh no. We're a;ready losing our spark, aren't we?" Seth said, mock dissapointment on his brow. Ryan glanced down to Seth's eyes, and smirked.

"Maybe if you're good, I'll squeeze you into my schedule tommorow." Ryan laughed. He stroked Seth's course hair absent mindedly.

"Ryan, you know what tommorow is, right?" Seth asked. "You'd damn well better give me something tommorow."

"Yeah, yeah, anniversary. I know." Ryan said, finishing in a long, drawn out yawn.

"What was that? 'Yeah, yeah'? Ryan, this is really important to me. I have planned out something way special for us, and I need to know you'll be there."

"What is it - a comic book convention?" Ryan joked, but Seth didn't laugh.

"Ryan, you haven't been around as much...you've even been distant...I want to know if something's wrong."

"Seth, let's just talk about this another time."

"There you go again. That's what I was talking about. Everytime I try to talk to you, you avoid it."

"I'm just tired."

"You're always tired!" Seth yelled. He sat up, and he, like Ryan, was surprised at how angry he got so quickly.

"Sorry..." He said, lying back down next to Ryan.

"Seth, I just don't want to talk about it right now..."

"But it might help."

"Don't want to."

"It's healthy to let things out, you know."

"Don't care."

"Look, I just want-"

"Look Seth, I'm trying to spend time with you now! Do your mom's therapy bullshit some other time, alright?" Ryan said. Seth was suddenly still, and quiet.

"Good night Ry." Seth said as he stood up, and left the pool house without another word. He really didn't want to hurt Seth like that, but he was just trying to pry into his personal feelings.

"Ryan, where do I have to go?" Summer said, passing cars left and right.

"The Wave." he told her.

They were driving at full speed now, on a long over-pass, when Ryan noticed a siren behind them.

"Shit...don't worry, we'll lose 'em." Summer told him. The were going extremely fast now, passing dangerously close to other vehicles for that speed.

Then, about three more sirens appeared behind them.

"Okay, so now we're in a police chase." Summer laughed. "Chino, I'm sure if you just robbed your boyfriend's gramps, you've probably got a good reason for me to do this right? I mean, if we explain the situation, we'll get out of it?" she asked. Ryan only shrugged.

"I don't know."

"So what _is_ our situation?"

"At about one o'clock, I got a call from Seth. This guy has him, and he wants 100,000$ by 1:30. And, to prove how serious he was, he killed a cop. In a public place."

Summer glanced to him.

"Sorry man." she said. he only shook his head, he didn't need condolences. He just needed to get to Seth. So basically, all was going smooth, except for the cops.

"OH FUCK ME!" Summer screamed, swurving hard. There was a kid in the middle of the street. The turn caused the car to rolled, and flip like crazy.

Ryan hit the window, and blacked out.

"Ryan, I'm sorry."

"..."

"None of us knew-How could we?"

"You were supposed to be watching her Seth."

"I fell asleep! How could I have stopped her!"

"I don't know! I don't wanna talk about this right now..."

"Ryan, It's not your fault! Marrisa killed herslef, not the other way around!"

"Seth!" Ryan said, holding up a hand. He was really reaching at that moment. He put his hand down and walked away, out of Seth's room.

Seth knew it. He had always known it. He could never actually live up to Marrisa in Ryan's mind. As matters of the heart went, Seth was second place, and he could accept that. At least he had Ryan now, even if it was obvious that he longed for the blonde.

And, for the first time in years, he broke down and cried. Ryan, however, heard him while standing outside of his door. He had done it again. He has losing his temper, and...possibly losing Seth.

Ryan finally came to, looking around. Dissoriented, it took him a second to realize that the car was upside down.

He un buckled his belt, and fell head first onto the ceiling. He looked over to Summer, who was still unconcious. She seemed fine, her chest rising and falling. Then he noticed that she wasn't unconcious, but just barely between reality and dreams.

He saw that, at her waste, her lower body was crushed. the car had awkwardly positioned her, and aparenlty pierce or ripped/tore at somewhere, for there was blood.

"Summer." Ryan said, reaching for her. "I'll be back with help. Just don't go to sleep." he said, kicking out the rest of his window and sliding himself out. Once he was completely out (plastic bag clutched in hand) he stood to see which direction was what.

Then, he was right back to where he started: running.

'Seth...hold on...I'll be there...just keep waiting...and I'll keep running...'

**_To Be Continued..._** assuming you like it so far...


	2. Fate of darts and hearts

A/N: To be honest, I was considering dropping this, since it took me almost a month to get any reviews! ( ) However, I do thank **_CountryBoy22 _** & **_KneazleTheWeazle_** for reviewing (esp. possitive ones lol). Well, I'm going to try to do my best on this story, so we'll see how I fare...

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Ryan was out winded. One block to go, obviously looking suspicious. Luckily, none of the squad cars had seen him flee the scene, and were too preoccupied with Summer's injuries to care.

He turned the corner, and saw the small, poor excuse of a store. He had never been pleased to see the place before, but its enthusiasm-lacking employees were a sight to behold. The Wave was a haven. Now, to find the guy.

He walked inside the store, obviously a wreck. He was sweating, looking grungy, and, though he couldn't tell himself, most likely smelled putridly.

"Umm, can I help you sir?" the girl behind the counter asked him. She was short, and so thin that he would have bet she was bulemic. She leaned on the counter, absent mindedly curling a locke of her blonde hair in between her index and middle fingers.

"I'm looking for someone." he replied. he walked past her, into the store. It contained but only five racks, and a few shelves. They couldn't hide anywhere without being noticed. He glanced at the clock in the store, a large Coca-Cola cap with hands.

Technically, he still had two minutes, so where was the son-of-a-bitch who had taken Seth? Ryan was weaving between the racks, numberous times as a matter of fact, but no one else was in the store. It would have saved some time, if the girl had just told him that in the first place.

Ryan was taken back, however, when there was a loud ring. It was a cellphone, somewhere in the nearby rack. he heard the second ring, and began flipping through the button shirts. Third ring, he found the phone casually sitting in one of the front chest pockets. Forth ring, cut short, for he answered the call.

"Hello?" Ryan answered. He knew who it was on the other end, probably laughing their ass off. "So, the rabbit runs, and obviously aware of 'Ben', all to save one person."

"Rabbit, Ben, what the fuck does all of this mean!" he yelled, and then quieted a little when he saw the girl watching him. "Just a pondering quote in my mind." the voice replied.

"Look, I have the money, so _please_, just let Seth go."

"Aww, now I can't do that."

"Then where are you? I thought we were gonna trade off." Ryan hissed. He then heard the bastard laughing.

"You, the brave young suitor, trying to save the slave of fashion who boasts in the glory of others - willing to sacrafice yourself in the progress...a brilliant saranade, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I am willing to sacrafice myself for Seth. So why don't you show your fucking face and take the money, so you can just leave us alone."

"Your lover makes a passionate plea, Seth is it?" Ryan heard him call out toward the back ground. "You will meet me behind Hardigan's Hardware, in the warehouse parkinglot."

There was a click, and the phone call was ended with silence. Ryan pocketed the phone, and was on his way out. "Uh - sir?" the girl called. "You dropped something." she said, holding up his wallet. How the hell had that fallen out? he had deep pockets.

He felt around his back pocket, and found a hole. He must have somehow busted the seems, luckily it didn't fall out while he was running.

It hung open in her hand. He cautiously took it from her, and gave her a thankful nod. There, before him, was his picture of Seth. He remembered the picture.

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Seth was beautiful. Not that Ryan meant he looked femminen, just that he was such a sight to see. His features where greatly complimented in the sunset light, and the sea and the beach definitely made the atmosphere settling.

"Ryan, when are we going to tell everyone?" He asked. He leaned back on his elbows, lying out, and watching the ocean waves. Ryan almost wasn't even there, lost in Seths silhouette.

"I dunno..." he replied. He leaned over Seth, giving him a long, drawn out kiss. Pulling away, he admired the way Seth froze everytime they kissed, almost like he was absorbing every escence.

"We'll just go with it. Let 'em find out on their own." he said, sitting up. Seth looked at him.

"I don't want them to figure it out on their own. I want a real relationship. I want you for myself. I wanna go to dinner, or go to a movie, or even just be seen together in public." Seth told him. "We are seen together in public." Ryan laughed.

"Ryan, you know what I mean." he said. Ryan did know what he meant. Seth wanted all of that smothering, affectionate, couply bullshit. And, secretly, Ryan did too.

"Seth, you know I like you, but I'm also with Marrisa..." Ryan told him. True, it wasn't what Seth wanted to hear, at all, nor was it something Ryan wanted to say to him, but it did shut Seth up.

"Well, you've gotta choose sometime. I don't mean to pressure you into it, but it is true. She needs to know that you're bi, or whatever you are..." Seth told him, sitting up and putting him arm around Ryan's neck.

Ryan wasn't really "bisexual", at least he didn't think so. He had never felt attracted to any other guy than Seth before. Maybe he was confusing his feelings with a deep friendship, or maybe he really did like Seth in that way. It was here, that Ryan decided that there were some things to life that he would never understand.

"Well I've taken the liberty to make a game out of the situation..." Seth said as he stood up. He walked about five feet in front of Ryan, and pulled out two small pieces of paper. He laid them on the ground and walked back.

"Here..." he said, hnding Ryan a dart.

"What's this for?" he asked Seth. Seth kneeled down beside him, and stared before them.

"Over there are two pictures. One of moi, and one of Marrisa. Toss the dart, and if it lands on Marrisa, then you stay with her. If it lands on me, then you're mine." he explained casually.

"Seth, do you actually expect me to put my heart into what direction the wind is blowing?" he laughed. He then realized that Seth was dead serious. He hadn't thought it would come down to this.

"Ryan, I'm tired of waiting on you to decide on your own. I see you with Marrisa, and it's killing me. So, I want you to just trust fate."

"And if I don't believe in 'Fate'?"

"Then believe in what you want." he said. Seth had to go and be the vague one didn't he?

Ryan sighed, and pulled his arm up. he took a deep breath, and flipped the dart upward and into the air. the aim wasn't bad, as it had actually hit one of the photo's dead center.

Ryan stood up to see which one it had hit, but Seth knew which one was which, so he had no need to see. He watched as Ryan bent down and picked up the small sheet of paper.

Seth watched him walk back and sit by Seth. They sat in silence until Ryan finally put his arm around Seth, and he snuggled back into him.

"Ryan, I know it was Marrisa." Seth said. Ryan remained silent, and stayed in the moment. He ripped up the picture of Marrisa, and tossed it into the sand. He then pulled out his wallet, and put Seth's picture in it.

"It's a good photo of you." he told Seth. Seth only looked confused.

"C'mon. You didn't actually think I'd go with what a dart told me to do, did you?"

Seth laughed slightly, but he knew Marrisa was first and foremost.

"Seth, you worry too much." were the last words spoken, before Ryan visciously "attacked" him in that spot that night.

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The warehouse was pretty much abandoned. There seemed to be no one in sight. No employees, no teens, no one. Then, a black car pulled into sight. It was a Hearse, which made Ryan feel a little uncomfortable. However, the last thirty-five minutes had been pretty hectic, so he was just a mental mess anyway.

A man stood out of the Hearse, tall. He looked mid-thirties, shoulder length black hair, and black sunglasses. he walked toward Ryan, and stopped about ten feet away, staring.

"Toss the money." he called out. It definitely wasn't the voice on the phone. "First show me Seth!" Ryan demanded in return. The man nodded, understandably, and whistled.

The back hatch swung open, and the lackeys inside pushed out a large casket. It hit the ground with a loud, hard thud.

"It fit him perfectly, y'know? Red oak, laquered finish, a real 'beaut'. It was a lil' snug for me, but he's got room to scrath away in it." he guy told him. The men wearing black masks, who had pushed the casket out, jumped out of the vehicle to crobar the large container open.

They busted the latches, and pulled out a very disgruntled, scared young man.

"Seth!" Ryan called out. one of them quickly spun him around, and held a knife up to his throat.

"Hold it there, hero-boy." the man said. "We got the small matter about the cash." Ryan looked to him, and then back to Seth, who was pleading for Ryan to just hand the money over.

"You can tell the fuck that called me that this money came straight from Caleb's business." Ryan said as he tossed the bag in the air.

The man bent down to the ground, and picked up the smalle bag. He looked down to the bundles, and smirked. "Well, he's your bitch now. Go on, take him." he said. The men let Seth go, and he ran over to Ryan.

Ryan held Seth close to him, and felt the smaller frame ball into his shoulder. Ryan didn't want to let go, and didn't plan to either.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens could be heard all around, and within seconds the five of them were surrounded.

"Son of a BITCH!" the man yelled. "You led them here!" he yelled to Ryan. Ryan shook his head, still holding Seth.

At this moment, the man had withdrew a 9mm from his back pocket, and pointed it at Ryan.

"PUT THE GUN DOWN, AND BACK AWAY" the megaphone blared from the squad car.

"The rules were simple, but you failed. He dies now!" he said. He pulled the trigger, and Seth turned around to see what he was doing. Of course no one can out od a bullet in terms of speed, but ryan tried to push Seth out of the way in time.

At this moment, Chaos consumed the small parkinglot behind the hardward store, and guns were fired everywhere. The outcome: Hears cronies dead, Man in black glasses dead, and a few officers taken down with them.

As for Seth, Ryan had moved his head out of bullet's line, but he couldn't keep inevitability away. The bullet had hit him in his neck, in his juggular artary. Blood was shooting like a pump, and Ryan tried to put his hand over the wound to stop it.

Seth was dazed, unable to sepak, coughing up blood. Ryan was panicking, histericle about the situation. Slowly, Seth's eyes began to loll.

"No...No! Seth, hang in there!" He said. "Help! Call an ambulence!" He screamed to the police. They rush over to his aide, but they knew nothing to help this situation.

"Seth. Seth! Wake up, c'mon." he said, grabbing his head. Seth's breathing shallowed, his pulse almost completely stalled. And then, he was gone. His eyes stared lifelessly into Ryans. And, as it is true that rarities occur, Ryan broke down.

Seth was killed. Warm tears fell unto dry, crimson stains, mixing and running down Seths limp body.

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A/N: This was shorter than I had expected, but now that I'm back into writting it, I should have a new chapter every day lol - as if hehehe. Well, REVIEW please, as to keep spirits up. THNX ; D


	3. The fist of reprimendment

Jail, as Ryan would put it, sucked ass. The walls were cringingly discolored, water stains slithering down from the ceiling to the stone floor. It was cold as hell, the toilet was putridly stenching up the room, cochroaches manifesting themselves through every crevice.

However, none of these things seemed to matter to Ryan. Seth was gone. He was dead, and it was his fault. He hadn't been careful enough, just like it was his fault that Marrisa had O.D.'d, because he wasn't careful in how he had let her know about who he really loved.

Love? He didn't even get to tell Seth that he loved him. Ryan looked to his hands, which had been stained only hours ago. his shirt was still dark, more of a brown from the dry blood.

He sat, lost in his world on the small, hard cell bench, when he heard the sound of keys. The cell had slid open, and Ryan heard the echoing sound of footsteps. He hadn't paid any attention though. He continued to stare at the placid ground.

He then felt a warm hand on his left cheek, and looked up. It was Kirsten's hand. She had been crying, probably for hours, and her eyes her bloodshot.

"Hello Kiddo." Sandy said. They had paid his bail, and had come to take him home. Home, of course, was only going to be hell for the lot of them, but that was the last thing on their mind at the moment.

The ride home wasn't the most comfortable moment in time either. Sandy was quiet, Kirsten seemed lost, and Ryan would seem externally distant, but he was a racing mess inside. The same phrase had crossed his mind since it all happened; He's gone. He walked the mile, and now he walked alone. For once, there was something he couldn't handle.

He cried to himself in the backseat of the vehicle, but he didn't think Sandy and Kirsten had seen. He really could care less if they had.

"Well," Sandy began "The situation was explained to the police, they've talked to Caleb and returned the money. The good news is, he's not going to press charges on Ryan for assualt, attempted murder, breaking and entering, and theft."

Both Kirsten and Ryan looked at him in disbelief. "Really? Is that good news? Well I guess the whole fucking world can relax now, can't it?" Kirsten snapped. Ryan would have been surprised to hear Kirsten say 'fuck', but he was too tired to care.

Of course, this enslued a series of arguements over the next few days...

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3: 27 a.m. Ryan couldn't possibly be expected to sleep at this time of night, especially after what happened. Seth had never slept down in the poolhouse with Ryan, Kirsten and Sandy prevented that possibility when they told the two they were together.

But, now, without Seth, it all seemed so much...colder. He could remember the few times when he held Seth close to him. There was no social-cast system, no worries about school, jobs, the future, just them. The two of them.

Ryan decided sleep was useless, so he stood up and headed outside. The night air was cold, and unwelcoming, as he made his way across the damp lawn.

The house was no better, dark and quiet. He walked into the livingroom, where Sandy slept on the couch, and through the kitchen, where a few empty bottle of wine (Kirsten's mess) and the Hrad liquor bottles, i.e. Jack Daniels, Vodka, etc. (Sandy's wake).

Ryan's feet found what they where looking for, as he silently crossed into Seth's room. His computer, comicbooks lacing the floor, and the messy bed.

He crossed over to Seth's desk, and flipped the lamp switch. The dim light bathed the insignificant items in a small veil of light. He smiled to himself, in contrast to feeling dead, and reminisced over the room.

And on the desk, by the computer, was an envelope, adressed to one _Ry_. Ryan refrianed, as he debated picking the letter up. His arm, however, got tired of waiting for him to decide, and picked the paper up.

Sitting upon Seth's bed, he ripped the envelope open, and pulled out a piece of folded lined paper. He unfolded it, and saw Seth's handwritting. And so, the last words of his lover had read,

_Ry,_

_I know we were supposed to discuss on our future, and never got around to it. Also, we also agreed not to talk about it today, and ruin our two year anniversary. However, you don't get to get out of it that easily. I'm too stubborn to let it go, you know this._

_You told me that we probably wouldn't last with a long-distance relationship. I mean, we'd really only have the weekends and holidays, and then one night you'll get waisted, and sleep with some girl. I'll find the thong, I'll call you a whore, you'll call me a cock-tease, and we'll break up._

_Sure, I know you stole that from Not Another Teen Movie, and it was meant to be a joke, but it did cross my mind. So, I have a proposal._

_In the envelope, you'll see a ring. That's my gift. The big surprise I told you about. Whenever you feel alone when I'm not there, just remember: I love you. I love you, and nobody else. That's why, it you'll notice on my left hand, I'll be wearing the matching ring when you're reading this._

_Well, I'm gonna stop now before I really start to sound like a girl._

_Happy anniversary,_

_Seth_

Ryan opened the ripped envelope, and saw the small ring. It was gold, with a design leading inward, where inside the ring, it read NEVER TAKE THIS OFF - SETH. Ryan smiled. So this was Seth's great surprise? A ring?

Ryan, never being the type to where rings, or jewelry, slid it onto his left ring finger. It fit perfectly. The glinted in the lamp-light, and he felt his eyes water again. The though was getting redundant, but Seth was gone.

"Couldn't keep yourself away either?" he heard her say in the doorway. Kirsten entered the room, and walked up to him. They stood in silence, both looking at each other.

She then brought her hand up to his eye, and wiped at a falling tear that he hadn't even noticed.

"It's hard to believe that he's gone, I know..." she said. She then, without warning, put her arms around him and held him. He knew she was trying to comfort him, but he really didn't feel like being held at the moment.

She pulled away, and looked into his face a little more, making him feel a little uncomfortable. "C'mon downstairs, and I'll fix you something to eat." she said.

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The hospitol was a little too bright for Ryan's taste. The nurses smiled as he walked by, the smell of rubber gloves, and medicine. It was his least favorite place to be, but he was here for someone, and he had promised himself that he would come.

He came across the room he had been looking for, 302, and entered. inside, the room was bright, and it smelled like a cafiteria. And there, in the middle of the room, she lied. The television on, potato chips in her lap, and the cheeriest smile on her face.

"Hey Chino." she said, turning off the T.V. He nodded, smiled, and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "How's life in this place?" he asked her.

"Craptastic. The food sucks, they never bring good news, and no one ever comes to visit you." she said. He laughed to himself, but the smile soon faded and they were back where they started.

"So, judging from the large rings under your eyes, and that terrible baggage, I suppose you haven't gotten much sleep?" she said. He avoided eye contact, and thought about the best way to tell her the news.

"What's wrong?" she asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. He only looked up to her, and told her as straight forward as he could.

"I didn't make it in time." he replied. She looked confused for a moment, and then relization dawned upon her brow. It was at this moment that Ryan's face met Summer's fist for the first time.

"AAH!" She heard him yell. He had fallen off of his chair and was dazed on the floor, holding his nose.

"What was that for?" he said. She gave him the deadliest glare she could.

"I crushed my hip for you to screw up? I ruptured my PANCREAS, I and I don't even know what it is!" she screamed. He looked up to her, and admired how strong her right hook was, as he climbed back into his chair.

"I didn't know it would end like that..." he tried to explain, flenching in case she was ready to strike him down again.

"I know...It wasn't anyone's fault..." she told him. She was taking the news much better than anyone else. But she was wrong in one sense. It was someone's fault, and they were to blame. The only problem was, he needed a name and a face to put together.

"I know how you felt about him, Chino. If it's any dondolence, he loved you more than anyone he'd ever been with...I even went with him to get your ring, which I can see you're enjoying." she luaghed.

He held up his hand, and slightly smirked. She then gasped. "Is that a smile growing on your face?" she mocked. Ryan only shook his head, and stood up.

"Well, I gotta go." he said. She seemed to dampen in spirit, but he took her chin in his palm, and lifted it. "I promise I'll come back soon, alright?"

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"The young man is back. Do you want to see him?" the intercom said. Caleb leaned back in his chair, and sighed. "Send him in." he said.

The door opened, and in walked that boy. He presented himself a little better this time, seeming less distressed, and obviously dressed descently.

Ryan was, though he shouldn't have been, surprised that Caleb now had two very large burly guards outside of his door to make sure that Ryan wasn't armed.

"Come to apologize?" Caleb asked, in the same smug air that he held high to everyone. Ryan, truth be told, was sick of it, but that wasn't why he was here. "No." he replied.

"Actually, I'm here because you owe me..." Ryan said. Caleb lifted a single brow, amused at the boy's gall.

"I owe _you_?"

"I want all the information you know on the cunts who did this to me, and the dick responsible."

A/N: Well, this chapter wasn't an action one, if that dissapointed you, just setting up to the next. As for those of you who have e-mailed me, I'll get to the whole beginning of 1st chapter later - all will be explained. And thnx to those who reviewed.


	4. The Gallow of red dye

A/N: Well, I am beginning to get into this story, and I've been getting some possitive reviews, so here you go. The next chapter. Some answers will be answered, and some questions will be raised ; D - So, without further adeu, Chapter 4 of Kokoro.

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"Information..." Caleb said aloud, mostly to himself. Ryan sat himself down before the man's desk, and leaned back into his chair. "So I suppose the idea is revenge?"

Ryan only nodded. Caleb said nothing. He interlaced his fingers as he examined the boy's eyes. He sighed, and tunred his chair away from Ryan to stare out of the window. Overlooking the city, the ocean was vast, hues of endigo and blue.

"Go home, Ryan." he said. The sentence brought back a sense of Deja Vu. It was only yesterday that he had told the boy to 'go home', and he had ended up being held at gun-point. Not to mention previously asualted with a sword.

Ryan leaned foreward, as if waiting for anything else to be added. "Go home? That's your explanation to thist? Go home?"

"I didn't say anything about explaining anything." He told the boy, still facing away. "You know I'm here, Caleb."

"Yes, I do. You're here because you're just an angry kid, who wants to go blame someone." He replied, finally looking Ryan in the face when he spun around. "You don't know anything, and you're better off if you don't."

"I'm not leaving until I get a name."

Caleb leaned forward, and pressed the intercom. "Will you please come and escort Mr. Atwood out of the premescis?"

The two very large guards intered the office, and crossed their arms. Ryan stood and left without struggle. However, before he completely left the room, Caleb stood from him desk and called him.

Ryan turned and faced him, waiting for whatever it was that he had called him for. "You wanted a name? Try Norman Gallow."

Ryan slightly nodded, and turned to take his leave while the two goones closed the door behind him. He made his way to the elevator, after recieving plenty of looks from that damn desk bitch, and pressed the first floor button.

Normal Gallow. That name seemed to ring a bell in the back of his mind, but aparently not enough to set off the alarm. The doors opened, and there stood Michelle, in all of her security glory, beaming.

"Hello Angel." she said. He hunched in agravation and looked back up to her. "Hey Michelle."

"I think I know why you looked so tired yesterday."

"Why?"

"Because I wore you out in my daydream. I mean, leapard speedo, whip cream, hand cuffs, monkey, we were having a ball."

"I don't even want to hear about it...wait - did you say a monkey? Never mind." he said, leaving her. She pinched his left cheek, and he cringed. "Don't hate the playah, hate the game..." she called before he was out of the building.

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Rain? In New Port? Unbelievable. How could a sudden 'storm' just show up like this? Not on tonight of all nights...A White Squall. The pier was soaked and it wasn't pleasnet at all. It sort of put a damper on things in his oppinion.

"Mr. Barrel? The cargo's ready for delivery." a man said, breaking him from his thoughts. Mr. Barrel waved his hand, and sent the useless apendage off.

A casket. What the hell was the boss' big obsession with caskets? It made no sense what so ever to order seven caskets if they were all the exact same ratio. The exact measurements, color, finish, wood, satin interior, etc.

Well, it wasn't his job to question, just to please, which wasn't too hard when you never see the man you work for.

"Well, well, well."

Mr. Barrel turned to face a tall, scragley man, late of age. Though most of it had faded to an ashed grey, some of his golden hair stranded out in the pouring rain. He limped forward, his cane making a loud slam as he made his way.

"Regan." he replied. The taller man, bowed in mock courtesy, and looked forward upon the 'cargo'.

"More bodies to get rid of?" Regan asked. Barrel shrugged, and shook his head. "I don't ask questions. But if that's the case, he's an awfully considerate killer, to bury 'em instead of toss 'em in the ocean, eh?"

"He he he...I suppose so." he grunted. He stood there in the cold rain, trench coat soaked, and looked down, as he did with most people, because Regan had always been tall.

The workers, insolent back talking youth, began to carry the black boxes into the large moving truck behind Regan. Neither Barrel nor Regan had moved, both standing on the pier, by the boat, while the 'cargo' was being unloaded.

Finally, the seventh, and final casket, seemed to cause commotion. Apparently, one of the workers ahd let go of the corner, and all of its contents fell out, slewed upon the planks.

"I-I didn't mean to!" he pleaded, after seeing what the real 'cargo' was.

Now all over the wood before them, in the rain, where exactley ten 35 Magnoms. There was eleven, but one of them fell into the water. Needless to say, these were very expensive items. The messenger was usually killed for such "accidents", and Regan couldn't afford that.

He withdrew his pistol, shot the young man without question, and put the gun back into its holster at his waist.

"Still the killer eh?" Barrel said, staring at the boy slowly losing his life. Regan simply popped his neck, and turned away. "And no one still knows your first name, so that answers your question on how little we've changed. Get the fuck over it and run the damn operation already."

With this said, all was replaced, cleaned, and even the item lost in sea was retrieved, at the threat of the men's lives of course.

"So, uh, did He say anything about me?" Barrel asked his old friend, as he was about to take his leave. Regan looked up into the florescent light above the two, and turned.

"As a matter of fact, He did. I almost forgot, and I'm glad you reminded me." he told the shorter man. There was a flash of lightning, almost perfectly silhouetted with the guns fire. Mr. Barrel looked down to his stomach, and slowly fell backwards into the black water.

In his vision, the water rushed over him, and he felt as though paralyzed. As he sunk, he watched the stream of the crimson smoke-like structure flow. His mind was at a blank, except for the thought of the searing pain in his abdomen. He then found out that, even though your lungs don't exactly agree with drowning, it was painless.

The water filled his lungs, and he didn't fight it. He finally reached the bottom, and felt light headed. Dying, it seemed, wasn't as instant as movies portray it, though he knew this already.

"So we weren't blood related, we were still brothers. And, so, I suppose you just can't escape sibling rivalry. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and all that bullshit..." Regan finished, and walked away from the edge.

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"Son, you're gonna have to speak up if you want me to find somebody." the old man said. Ryan didn't bother to remember his name, he didn't care. As long as he could fine what he wanted to know.

"Norman Gallow." he said a little louder, trying to keep his voice calm. He had been here a half an hour, and he was just getting served - that was bullshit of the highest degree. Why was it that all of Summer's "connections" were pains in the ass?

Actually, how did Summer have so many connections. Did she really get around _that_ much.

In the background of the cheap little gun parlor, a song was playing. A spanish song, aparently it was a Mexican folk song called _Malaguena Salerosa_. Ryan knew he had heard it before, but couldn't quite place it.

The table they were sitting at obviously had not been cleaned in some time. There were dark, grungy, sticky stains, and Ryan didn't care to get any of it on his clothing.

"Ah. And here we are." the guy said. "Norman Gallow...works at the bank uptown...teller." he told him. Ryan looked up to him. "That's it?" he asked. The old man sighed.

"Well yeah. Were you expecting some secret agent crap?" he asked.

"I...I guess so."

"Lemme tell you something. Secret Agents? They don't exist. It's a cover for missing people taken by the Aliens."

Ryan only stared at this poor, pittiful creature, and stood. He gave his adue, and turned to leave.

Ryan hopped into the car, which he remembered as a gift from Sandy and Kirsten. Apparently this was to show the two how "supportive" they were about their relationship. It also came with that convenient little book with Kirsten's hundreds upon hundred's of dating rules and restrictions.

Traffic wasn't too bad, and the weather had cleared up a bit since last night as well. It was almost as if things were back to normal. He almost expected to hear his cell ring, and hear Seth on the other end. But the thought of knowing he would never hear Seth's voice again kept his mind on focus of what he was doing.

The bank, however, was crowded as hell. There was no getting around it. He really didn't feel like dealing with people right now. In fact, in a way, he was starting to resent people.

"Can I help you sir?" he said. This guy was no older than 20, at most. This was the guy with whom he was supposed to get information out of?

He was 5'7, giving him credit, he was a straight red head, he wore glasses with very prominant black frames, which made his green eyes a little bigger than what was comfortable to see. He was the last thing Ryan expected to see.

"Are you the only Norman Gallow here?" he asked. The young man nodded slowly, and looked at Ryan in a way that was unreadable.

Ryan leaned forward, and whispered "Caleb sent me."

Norman stood straight upward, and stared back at Ryan. "I'm sorry, but I don't know a Caleb. I know a Cole, if that's who you meant..."

Ryan stared at the short guy, not knowing what else to say. He obviously didn't know anything more than Ryan. "But here. Take a flyer - we're handing them out like crazy today."

He handed ryan a folded piece of paper, and leaned to the side. "Next?"

Ryan walked outside, and couldn't believe it. He was the only Norman Gallow in the system. This meant only one possibility: Caleb had sent him on a wild chase for nothing.

He unfolded the flyer for the hell of it, and read "Saturday - Get 20 off of your next loan, or if you own an account..." the rest went on like this, droning on nothing important. But at the bottom, in handwritten pen, was this:_ Meet me around back in 5 mins._

Maybe this wasn't wasted after all...

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"God...Who do I have to FUCK to get a fat-free Mocha Latte around here!"

Summer was NOT having the best morning. Ryan showed up, but only to get something out of her. He didn't even bring her anything. Not a goddamned thing!

Hospitol food sucked ass, and no one seemed to reply to the nurse-calling-thingamajig-button.

"Well, you could fuck me." she heard. In walked a tall man, black hair, blue eyes, and she wouldn't have minded doing as the previous had replied, really. "But, uh, it looks like you're currently unable to fulfill any thing remotely related to sex." he laughed.

"Sorry...I'm Summer." she said, coming out of her daze. He nodded, and sat flowers in her lap.

"For me?"

"Why not?" he said as he sat down in the chair by her bed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here?" she asked. He looked up to here, and she melted under those blue eyes. You didn't see guys like this in New Port very often. She couldn't explain why, but she was almost hypnotized by those eyes.

"I'm a reporter - for the New Port Times? I wanted to ask you a few questions about the incident..."

"Well, I can't remember anything. Sorry I can't help you out any further." she told him. God, Ryan owed her so much right now. It was his fault for everything that she was going through at the moment.

"Well then. If you do remember anything, give me a call. It doesn't matter what time either, I don't really have a life." he laughed as he gave her his business card. She took it from him and read Matt Mortgenson.

"Oh? No 'special someone' to go home to?" she asked, of course playing it cool. Summer didn't really care, she was too cool to care. Cool? that didn't even sound right in her head at the moment.

"Nah, I just...well, I dunno why, I'm just single." he said. He stood, and turned to leave. She "happened" to glance down and noticed what a firm and glorious ass he had - it must have been the corner stone of her morning. He must have worked out.

"Maybe I'll drop by some other time." he said. And as he left, she sighed only one thing; "Damn...I need to get laid..."

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"This is it." Norman, or 'Norm', as instructed to call him, said. He had lead Ryan through the back door, and into the basement Vaults, where all of the most valuable things were kept. Aparently, Caleb had his own walk in vault here.

"I can't go in with you - Bank policy." he said. He opened the large, steele door, and stepped aside for Ryan. Ryan slowly stepped into the white vault, and looked before him. There was a white table, and on the table, for small tin boxes.

The door was shut behind him, and Ryan sat down. None of the boxes had locks, but he supposed you didn't need a lock when they were as protected as this.

The first, he slid toward him, was filled with cash. Though because they were small, there weren't many bundles. However, at second glance, it appeared that they were very larg bills. each, a hundred thousand, and about seven thick bundles per container.

And, as it turned, each container was filled with money. This was an unbelievable amount of moolah, as it seemed.

In the corner, a large black containr stood, about 3 feet long. Upon sitting this one on the table, he opened to an unexpected surprised.

It was as if an assassin's travel bag. A sniper rifle, a glock, a 9mm pistol, enough bullets to get one hell of a party started, throwing knives, the works.

"Caleb, what the hell have you been planning?" he said. The last box, was an old wooden case, that was displayed on the wall. This was the only container in the entire room to have a lock on its side.

Ryan planned on using every last bit of resource in this room. He figured whatever was in the box was important, and Caleb must have had the key.

Ryan turned and went to push the door open, but found that it must lock automatically upon shutting. He knocked on the cold metal.

"Hey Norm, I'm done." he called out. There was no reply.

"Norm! Let me out!" he called once more. And to this, he did get a reply, but not one that he expected to here.

"I'm sorry," he heard. "But an order's an order...You can't be aloud to leave here alive..."

That cheeky little fuck! There was no other way out of the room but the vault door.

"CALEB!" Ryan yelled out, and kicked the door. It was here, that he had put two and two together, and remembered that the room was air-sealed.

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A/N: Okay, now things are getting into flow. Now, in the begining, I did say that this was a collague of my favorite movies, so in the next chapter, don't be too surprised to read some things...see you soon w/the next chptr, and pleez R/R


	5. Ice Cream and a Tomb

So, this was it, huh? No one could here him scream, Norm, if that was his real name, had already said no one came down here except for the yearly inventory count.

There had to be some way out of here, but quite frankly, Ryan was tired. Nothing made sense, and it was all just too much to deal with at the moment.

How long had he been in here? It felt like hours upon hours, but he guessed that realistically about 23 minutes. The only thing on his mind was how he would love to use all of that equipment on Caleb. He had already been planning on ways he would like to do the deed.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the box again. That wooden box that was displayed upon the wall. He could just break the damn thing open and take a look-see what was inside...

But first thing's first. If he shot at the door, the bullets would probably ricochet, so that plan was tossed out. He had tried yelling for help, but no one came. He walked around, banging on the walls to find a hollow point, but none existed. No vents either. The Vault door was the only way in, or out.

"Well, I hope whatever's inside that damn thing's useful." he said to himself as he walked up to the case. He lifted it up, and found it wasn't very heavy at all. He sat it upon the table, and stared. running his hands upon the smooth surface, his fingers came across the lock.

Breaking it was simply done by busting the small pad with the handle of the small pistol. To his surprise, it only took one strike to break the small lock, and it fell broken on the table.

Opening it, he found the last thing he would have expected. A small key. Nothing particularly special about it, just a small silver key.

It seemed that this time, Ryan was at his end. He couldn't punch through steele, the bullets wouldn't be able to penetrate, he didn't have rays that come out of his eyes (though that would have been useful at the moment), he had nothing. And, in about 13 hours, judging by the cubic area of the room, he wouldn't even have oxygen. Of course Ryan didn't know how to determin the volume or area of a closed space, so he was in the dark about the oxygen as well.

There was nothing he could do about it this time. This had become his tomb.

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It seemed that everyone wanted to see Caleb now. Why couldn't they just leave him the fuck alone? Beggars, of course, the only thing anyone wanted from him was his money.

"Sir, should I let her in?" he heard the intercom, and then in the background he heard 'of course you let me in! I'm his daughter!'

"Send her in..." he sighed. He was edging a migrane from hell, and the last thing he needed was more 'family' coming to see him.

When the doors opened before him, he saw blonde hair following the rage of Kirsten. The conference room was empty, and she stormed right around the loong table up to him.

"What the HELL are you doing?" he hissed at him. He only shook his head and turned away from her. "I don't need this right now Kirsten."

"You don't need this right now? I though that we left all of that behind us! So what the hell is going on, huh?" She told him, crossing her arms.

"Nothing you should be concerned about."

"Ha! I did a little research of my own, you know. And you know what I found? You've still been doing business with the Antonioni's!"

He slowly turned to face her, and saw the look on her face. Her lips pursed together to a small line, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles white. It had been quite some time since he had seen so much reverance in her.

"For nineteen years, I thought it was all done and over with." She said.

"Just go home. We'll discuss this later. There's nothing to worry about."

"How can you be so fucking calm? Your grandson was killed by Him!"

"No, he wasn't." Caleb said, and he turned and faced the large, open winows that overlooked the landscape. Kirsten sat down in one of the chairs, and looked at him.

"What?"

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Ryan had found it hard to remain focused. It was so hot in there, he was drifting in and out of conciousness.

It must have been hours, but no sure way to find out. He was, however, glad that for once, Kirsten had stuffed the hell out of him last night when she cooked, so at least he wasn't hungry...yet.

He was slumped in against the door, and had his head leaned back against it. The florescent light was slightly flickering, and he felt tired. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He laid down on the floor, and drifted off.

He had a dream. It was strange, because Ryan usually didn't have dreams. It was all too hectic to recall, but he remembered seeing Seth's lifeless body in his arms, on the gravel of that parking lot.

Those eyes. They weren't like his. They were distant, unfocused, staring right back into Ryan's. Almost accusingly. And then something Ryan most definitely did not notice when he was there in that reality, was that Seth was already wearing the matching ring.

This could have just at well been fabricated by Ryan's mind, or perhaps it had remembered the unnoticable detail.

When Ryan came to, he was still in the vault. Of course he had hoped it was a dream, he had hoped the entire affair was just one long dream. But it wasn't.

He lied in the same spot, staring up at the ceiling, when he noticed that the room had cooled. He sat up, and it was there that he saw the door open. Wide open freedom. He imediately stood, and strode to the open exit.

He looked at the door, and etched in the metal was one word. RUN.

So, he decided that the best thing to do would be the take the advice, and "RUN". He quickly rushed to the table, and put all back in it's place. slinging the strap of the black case, caontaining the "equipment", he grabbed one of the containers of money, seeing as there was so much that he needed only one.

As he walked out of the Vault, he saw the dead, blood-gorged body of "Norm", sprawled out all over the floor. Ryan looked down on him, and simply thought 'serves him right, son-of-a-bitch...'

He made his way around the corner, up the stairs, and out of the back door. Day light never looked so good. It was dusk, and he had somewhere to go. A certain someone to see...

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"So anyway, I'm lying all over the bed, ice cream on my chest, and the dog jumped right on top of me and started licking it off of me! I had to fight to get it off." Summer laughed. "Hence, why I'm no longer a dog person."

Matt Mortgenson, a reporter for the New Port Times, was a good listener. Maybe from all those interviews, or maybe naturally, but he was a really, really, good listener. And that was all Summer needed.

"So, Matt, are you an only child?" she asked. He sat his bowl of Ice Cream next to hers, and swallowed his mouth ful, which he had almost lost, laughing from her previous experience.

"No, uh, actually I come from seven sisters, and three brothers." he said. Summer's jaw litterally dropped. How could one woman have so many? His parents must have been one happily married couple.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, but they're all in New York, so I never see them. Sometimes I talk to my sister, Marie, but it has been a long time since I've been home."

She nodded, listening. She really thought that they clicked, and he had kept his promise about coming back. She glanced at the clock. They had been talking for three hours straight. She smiled, and looked back to him.

"Listen, my ass is starting to hurt from sitting so long, so do you mind if I go outside for a few minutes?" he said. She shhok her head no, and watched him stand up. As he stretched his arms up, his shirt lifted, and of course summer had to look. It was just above his jeans, showing a little bit of flesh, but the view was shortly gone, and she looked back up to him and smiled again.

"Um, do you wanna come with?" he asked her. She looked up to him, one eye brow raised. "Well, I was just thinking, when I broke my hip when I was younger, I used to go around the hospitol in a wheel chair. And, I happened to notice you had one in the corner, so, you know..."

She glanced, and saw the folded chair that she hadn't noticed before now. She then quickly nodded, and regretted it, for thinking that she probably looked too eager. He laughed, and made his way to the opposite side of the room.

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"What?"

Caleb sighed, still facing away from his daughter. "Remember when you were goin into labor, and Sandy had tried to rush you to the hospitol in time..." She nodded, recalling the moment he was refurring to.

"When you were delivering, and then you passed out...The baby died during delivery. The umbellical cord had wrapped around its neck, and they couldn't save it in time."

Kirsten sat, unable to process what he was telling her. So, he continued.

"There was a woman who had given birth, and died during delivery. Of course, the child would have gone into the system, but we all decided to just...well," he paused.

She looked up to him, and couldn't believe what he was saying. "You mean my child, who I held when he had a bad dream, who I took care of when he was sick, whom I did everything under the sun for, wasn't my real baby?"

He stood in silence, not wanting to reply. The long silence had settled, and he heard her sobbing.

"Did Sandy know?" she asked. He only replied "yes", and she stared at the hard marble surface of the conference table.

He then heard her walk up to him. She paused for a moment, and then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dad?" he heard her say. He turned to face her and then...

_WHAM!_

She gave him full force of her fist. "You SONOFABITCH!" she screamed. Caleb was lucky that the windows were shatter-proof, or else he would have fallen to a painfull grave.

Kirsten strod out of the conference room, leaving him rubbing his jaw.

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"Y'know, I haven't heard you say anything about friends, etcetera. In fact, no one's come by to check on you today, since I've been here."

The night air was cool, and Summer liked being pushed around like royalty. She couldn't help but laugh at how attentive Matt was whenever there was a pivot in the ground, and such.

"My best friend died of an over-dosage six months ago." she replied. He was surprised at how calmly she had said it. "Sorry." he said. She laughed.

"I don't need your condolences." she told him.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes, and pulled one out. He then began searching his pockets for his lighter, but found that it was not to be found. "It must've fell out somewhere...oh well..."

"So, what does such a charismatic woman such as yourself do on her free time?" he asked, putting the small thing back in it's pack. Summer sighed. "I put up with other people." she said. He laughed, and she thought his laugh was cute as well.

"Actually, I'm working on opening up my own business." she said. He raised an eyebrow, looking impressed. "Usually when I ask that, they reply 'achieving world peace'."

Summer smiled, and looked out across the hospitol parking lot. The sky was clear, and she looked up to admire its canvas.

"The sky's usually not this clear." she said aloud. He looked up after sitting down on the curb by her chair.

"I used to study astronomy in college." he said. He pointed up to the moon. "See that star right to the right of it?" he told her. She looked, and sure enough, it was the only star near the position.

"It's a white dwarf. In '89, it was a red giant. It went into a supernova, and it was a huge deal - all over the news. I saw it when I was a kid, and...it was beautiful. Of course, at 8 years old, I said "awesome" because it wasn't cool for a boy to say "beautiful", but the fact remained." he laughed.

"But what amazes me is that any of those other stars could have gone by now, and we just cant see it because it takes hundreds of thousands of light years for the image to reach us, y'know?"

Summer hadn't thought about stars, or planets, or all that stuff much in her life, but after hearing that, it was all kind of, in a wierd way, as he said, beautiful. It was that moment that she looked at him, just as he happened to look at her. They drew closer, and she was, as she had been, hypnotically tranced by those eyes.

And there, under the clear sky, Summer had her first kiss. Sure, he had kissed other guys before, but always in a lusted-for, heated way. This was different. It was soft, slow, simple. So, it was sort of like being kissed for the first time all over again.

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A/N: This chapter wasn't really meant to be action-packed. I just felt that I had been neglecting Summer in the others (even though it IS supposed to be Ryan/Seth he he he). But anyway, I've gotten a few e-mails about being confused about how Seth "came back". And, If you're confused, then I'm doing my job ; D


	6. Wisdom of the Mogrel and the Peanut

"J'ai la clef si vous avez l'argent"

"Et la blonde?"

"Être bientôt mort, comme son défunt amoureux..."

"Le secret de l'ordre de la rue "Alessa" est crucial. La vie du garçon

doit être prise. L'échec n'est pas une option."

The phone was clicked, and hung up. The face read Call Ended. Regan, of course, was as cool as a cucumber. "I didn't know ya spoke french."

"Barrel was digging too deeply for his own good...You understand why we had to do what we did." he said, his voice deep, trembling. Regan leaned back into his seat. "Of course sir."

The room was dimmed, darkened, only lit by a small greene lamp upon his desk. "So, what did they say?"

"The boy must be taken care of. He knows more than he should."

"It'll be done."

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"Sir" he heard the intercom begin. He hadn't heard the damn thing so much in his life. Just how he wanted to start his morning.

"Mr. Atwood is here to see you."

"Send him in." he groaned. In walked the boy, with an unusual air about him. His eyes were concealed by dark sunglasses, so Caleb couldn't quite tell what his intent was.

"You're probably wondering why I had those things locked up like that?" he said. Ryan laughed. "Really, is that what I'm wondering?"

"I know you think that I gave Norman the order to lock you in the Vault, but I swear it wasn't. The little prick, after everything I'd done for him, had been moon lighting for McKenzie." he said. Ryan rasied a brow, confused.

"Regan McKenzie is the one who was behind your 'situation'." He explained. Ryan sat down across from the man, sitting in the chair he had become familiar with.

Caleb slid a plain, baige folder across to Ryan. "That has everything you need to know to find him." Ryan nodded.

"Now you know, once you start, you can't turn back. From what happened to you yesterday, it seems they're already trying to get rid of you...I thought you'd have more time to prepare..."

"So what's the story between you two?"

"If your going through with this, then you'll find out soon enough."

"Figures you wouldn't tell me straight forward..." Ryan said. He stood, picked up the file, and headed for the door. "One more thing," Caleb called.

"Once you walk out of this Office, you cannot contant anyone. If you do, it could cost them their life." he said. Ryan understood. He was on his own now. What he was doing, he wasn't exactly sure of. He hadn't really thought it through.

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The sun was shining high in the sky, without a cloud in sight. The trees along the freeway seemed to be greener, possibly by the White Squall that had suddenly appeared. However, before Ryan was lost unto his mission, he had to make a call, disregarding what Caleb told him.

He scanned the numbers programed in his phone, and came across the one he had been searching for. He dialed the number, 'Summer', and placed the small device by his ear. It rang four times, and then the automated voice told him to wait for a beep, and something about a call back number.

"Summer...It Ryan. Listen...I'm sorry for getting you involved in all of this. But you should be out of the Hospitol in about three weeks, and by what I hear, your pelvis should he stronger." he laughed, but then turned back to his serious attitude.

"You won't see me, possibly never again. I don't know if I'm gonna die, or if I'll get him, it's all tossed up now...Just...tell Sandy and Kirsten...Thanks." with this said, he hung up. He would have liked to say more, but he figured it best to leave it at that. Like Caleb said, the less he knew, the better. And, his theory turned out to be true.

So to recap things to himself, Ryan thought this through. Basically, Caleb had some bad business back in the day, and he figured this "McKenzie" guy was pissed. So, he decided to get some money by taking Caleb's grandson hostage. And, if Ryan had gotten there unseen, Seth would still be alive, and this guy probably would have finished his business directly with Caleb, instead of draggin Ryan and Seth into it.

Ryan glanced back to the map on the seat beside him, the one that Caleb had printed for him out of the folder, and showed that he needed to drive two more exits. Good ol' Map Quest, he thought.

Ryan looked up to the photo. The photo he had hung below his rear view mirror. The photo of Seth. Of course, he thought it was kind of corny trying to hold onto his memory, after all, most people just moved on. But what happened to Ryan was unfair.

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Kirsten glanced up into the house, sitting in her car in the driveway. She finally decided it was time to confront this. She pulled the handle of the door, pushed it open, stepping one foot out. She grabbed her purse, locked up, and looked once more at the large house, which in only days, had seemed to come to a dead, emptiness.

Upon walking into the house, she made her way to the livingroom to sit her things down, but found Sany asleep on the sofa.

"Sandy..." she said. He murmured something incoherant, and then turned over. "Sandy!" she finally yelled. He jerked, opened his eyes, and whipped around to look, but eventually fell off of the couch.

Standing up, rubbing his now aching body, he looked to his wife. "Where've you been? I was up all night waiting for you..." he said. She only shook her head and looked up into his face. She didn't even know him anymore.

"You lying son of a bitch..." she said. He knew something was wrong. He knew she had been swearing a lot since Seth's death, but she hadn't quite turned on him yet. "What's wrong?" he asked, stepping toward her to comfort. She didn't seem to need any at the moment, for she backed away and held up her hand.

"How could you keep this from me all these years?" she said. He sat down, still bewildered at what she meant. Then it dawned on him. "Honey, look, I only have a cigarette every once in a while - I'm not addicted to them again." he said. She only glared at him.

"I'm talking about our son! How could you not tell me that he wasn't...our..." she began to break near the end, and broke down once more.

"Honey, I'm sure you have a good reason to be mad, but I still don't know what it is." he said, kneeling beside her. He placed her arms around her, and slowly stroked her hair.

"You didn't tell me that my son was dead!"

"Well, honey, we found out at the same time..." still comforting her. Did she think it was any easier on him? Seth was his son as well...

"I'm not talking about that!" she said, struggling out of him. "Caleb told me everything! About the baby not surviving, and being switched!"

Sandy was now at utter confusion. There was no way she knew what she was saying, because she wasn't making one bit of sense.

"You mean after the accident? Kirsten, they saved the baby. It's heart had stopped, but they performed a C-section and got it in time. Now what were you saying about Caleb?" he said, looking at her in the most strange way she had ever seen. She had finally figured out what happened. The old bastard had pulled one on her, and she had actually believed him.

"Did Caleb tell you that Seth was switched at birth?" he said, now looking both disgusted, and angry - an interesting combonation.

She sat down on the couch, unable to believe that she had actually fallen for his little game. "Oh my God..." she said. "He lied to me..."

"Well, it doesn't surprise me. It wouldn't be the first time." Sandy said sarcastically.

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The parlor was dim, of course that was to be expected. However, what Ryan was motsly surprised to see was the fact that there were this many men, fifteen at least, in a strip-joint at 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Can I help you, shug?" a bar maid asked him, in fishnet stockings and a bow-tie. She wasn't half bad looking to Ryan herself, and under different circumstances, may have even been flattered that she happened to be checking him out at the moment. However, his mind went directly back to business.

"Yeah, I'm lookin' for George Moore. Is he here?" he asked. She looked him up and down, then jerked her head to the side. "Hey Shell! Take over for me!" she called. A taller, timid girl ran up, and took the platter of drinks from her.

The girl lead him into the women's bathroom (which he was surprised they had one in a Strip-Joint like this) and shut the door behind them. He looked around, and was surprised...and a little disgusted which was one of Sandy's thoughts, but we'll get to that later .

The wall tiles were chipped, the floor hadn't been cleaned in some time, clearly, and the place held a putrid oder.

She lead his to the last stall, which had an Out Of Order. She kicked the door open, and stepped inside. As Ryan leaned over to peek inside, it appeared to be the worst toilet he had seen in his days.

The smell was un-bareable, most of the place was a rust-brown color. Ryan was trying not to throw up from the smeel by covering his nose with his sleeve. "Why are we here?" he choked up.

"You said you were looking for George." she said. She pulled out a rubber glove and put it on. "I never like touching this thing..." she murmured, and pressed the flush handle down. And, just like that, the wall in that stall slowly rose.

"Fancy eh?" she winked, and lead him through the large "doorway". She then shut the wall behind them. Inside this new area, it sort of reminded Ryan of an illegal gambling place.

"Well come on and have a seat" he heard someone say. An old man, african-american, sat in a stool at the opposite end of the small room. He wore dark sunglasses, ashed hair, and a smile on his face.

Ryan walked up to him, and sat in the stoole the old man implied, about four feet from his own. Ryan sat down, and looked to the old man, and the guy just kept smiling. "So what can I do you for?"

"I'm looking for someone." he replied. "George" seemed to nod, and pulled his cane to his side. "Well you gonna have to be specific. Y'see, tha's why I'm here. E'rybody's always comin' to me lookin' fo' someone, and I consider myself the ri' man to find 'em." he laughed. "So the question is, who are ya lookin for son?"

"Regan McKenzie."

At this, the old man's everlasting smile, had drastically faded. The girl looked to him, and then back to Ryan. "Well, I don't think this one's mine, sweetheart." he said as he stood, using the cane for support. He had to be in his early 70's at least. The girl nodded, and he walked past Ryan toward the "door". However, before he reached the exit, he turned and told Ryan one thing.

"Nice shades, by the way son." he said. Ryan smiled when he realized what he meant. The two happened to be wearing the same glasses.

"So, I was told that George would give me the information I needed, and now he's leaving?" Ryan said, turning to look at the girl, but finger still pointed at the exit. She walked over, and sat before him on the aluminum stool, and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, the name's George Moore." she said. He raised an eyebrow, and looked at her. "You're George?" he said, unbelieving. She simply nodded, crossing her legs.

"So, your name is George?" he laughed. She shook her head, and gave him the oddest look. "It's short for Georgia, but helps me keep my cover." she said.

"So McKenzie eh? That's a pretty big fish you're lookin to fry..."You a sushi chef or somethin?" she laughed. He didn't seem to be in the chiper mood, and eventually George caught on to this, and stopped her giggling.

"Well, I'm sorry, but that's pretty dangerous info...I mean, the less you know-"

"-The better...yeah, heard it before, and now I'm being hunted." he said. She only shrugged. "He's not hard to find, if you know where to look for him." she said. He crossed his arms and stared.

"Then where is he?"

"You know," she said. "When I was a little girl, my father used to tale me fishing out in international waters. No laws, so we could catch whatever we wanted. Anyway, he showed me something interesting."

"He took a small fish, and placed it on the floor. It started flapping, and not three minutes later, it was dead. Zip, Ziltch, Nada. Then, he pulled out the Mogrel Koi we had just caught, about four feet long, thick, put up a little fight. He placed it on the ground, and you know what happened?"

"It died?"

"I thought it would too...But, what it did, was flail around until it reached the small fish, managed to eat it, and then somehow - by some kinda skill - had found its way back to the water, jumping over the small side rail."

"I really don't see your point..." he said. She cleared her throat, and continued.

"My point is that, when it comes to killing, you are a small fish - probably no bigger than a feeder fish. And, when it comes to McKenzie, he is the Mongrel Koi.

"Seasoned pro's like him take out other "Mogrel's" easily. So, this being said, I can only give some advice, which I find wise; Go home."

It seemed that everyone was telling him to go home, and by now, he was sick of it. However, he kept his cool, and patience. The truth was, however, that there wasn't a "home" without Seth. Seth, in a way, was his home.

"But I am curious," she said. "Who bailed you out of the whole vault thing?"

"You know about that?"

"Oh please. Anyone who's anyone knows about _that_."

"Well, I, uh, don't really know..."

"Ooh, a secret admirer?" she teased. "Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more-"

"Can I just get an address or something, please?"

She then gave him a look, and then turned. "Of course you know by now, at least I hope so, that I do run a business here. So, it's gonna cost ya."

"How much?" he sighed. Of course, he thought.

"100 grand." she said. This brought back a strange sense of deja vu, as Ryan thought back on it. 100,000 dollars...the cost of Seth's life. But he was worth more...Seth was priceless.

"Easily done." he said. He pulled out one bundle of cash, each bill a 10, 000 dollar bill, and counted out 10 of those. She seemed to be almost drooling over the money, but composed herself.

He handed the money over, and it seemed like she was willing herself not to snatch it. Instead, she held some dignity, and slowly, oh so daintifully, slid it from his fingers.

"Regan McKenzie's on the Via Quadro, on the road to Selina." she said. Ryan was confised. "I've never heard of anywhere like that in California."

"That's because it's not. It's in Mexico."

He looked up to her. Mexico? "However, had you come a few nights ago, he was in town for business. Retrieving a shipment for his boss."

"His boss?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah, scary dude. I think he's the one who had some beef with Caleb."

"So who's his boss?"

She sort of snorted, and pulled out a peanut bag. "You know what I've learned from peanuts?"

"No, but I have a feeling that it's going to be another metaphore for something, just to waiste time?"

"Alright, I'll skip over the story. Point in fact, no one knows who, what, or where to find his boss. Some secret order, or cult, I dunno. In fact, everyone just calls him "Boss" he he he..." she said.

At this moment, three men walked into the room. Aparently, by her face, she was not expecting them at all, nor know who they were. However, when they pulled out guns, she immediately decided not to ask questions.

They began shooting, but she was quick enough to capsoze the pool table so they could hide behind it. This proved not too helpful, as some bullets ripped through the table itself, but it was good enough.

"Here. Take this." she said, handing him a gun. He took it. "When you get a chance, shoot." she said. He herd a paused, in which he figured them to be reloading. He glanced to his right to see her stand up, and shoot. Though he heard her get only one shot off, she was pleased as she had "nailed" one right between the eyes.

"Why didn't you shoot!" she hissed, waiting while bullets hit the table, sending a vibrant feeling to their backs. The truth was, though he had just realized it, was that he had never really killed a man before.

When the second pause came, she stood, and he heard her let out wave after wave of bullet shots. She then dropped, and glared at him. "Did I not tell you to shoot?" she said. "I-I've never really..." he trailed off. Then he was grabbed by the collar, face to face with a very frightening sight indeed.

"I said shoot BITCH!" she said, and he nodded. She stood once more, he not even noticing the 'pause', and fired her gun. The first shot glazed the tall, midle one's ear, but the second shot when straight through his eye, sending a collagued piece of brain-meets-wall art. Ryan stood, and in a split second, it was over.

He had aimed, pulled the trigger, felt the force of the shot, and semi closed his eyes. When he looked, the man was sprawled out on the ground, twitching. "Ooh...you got a twitcher..." she added.

He, on the other hand was still in aww that he'd actually shot the man. "I didn't know you were _that_ good." she mused, impressed, truly she was. He figured he wouldn't tell her that was his first time, seeing as he didn't want to come off as amature-ish.

"Well, nice shoot'n Rex, but I think we should get outta here, because obviously you've brought some shit to my territory. That I don't tollerate, and I'll punish you later - for now, we should stay focued on surviving."


	7. The Gourmet Queen

A/N: Okay, I know it's been a while. This chapter, I'm sorry, won't be that long, but I've been busy : (. But, there'll be a few cheep laughs, and the very, very, very, very little originality I try to add ;-D

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It is truly an amazing sight to behold when you see one of the greatest world wonders before you. This being brought to mind, Ryan only stared in aw.

The girl had already consumed three deluxe Cheese Burgers, and two large orders of chilly fries.

"Would you like anything else, ma'am?" the guy asked as he strode up to her. He had kept his tablet handy, as it seemed that she was relentless.

"Uh, yeah, I want...A triple Patty-Melt meal."

"You want me to super-size that?"

"A little bigger."

"Want me to Grande-size it for you?"

"Little bigger."

"Can I Macho-size it for you?"

Every time he suggested something, she would move her fingers a little closer, indicating her previous answer.

"Value-size? Loco-size? Can I Fat-ass that for you?"

"Perfect!" she said. He left, shaking his head, and Ryan only held his mouth open in disbelief. He was getting sick watching her, and he hadn't eaten a bite yet.

"So is this your plan?" he said. She looked around the small dinner, and grinned with gritted teeth, chilly still in mouth. "No, this place is just awesome." she said, swallowing. He had never seen such a sight as her teeth with a full chilly-view.

"So what is the aim of sitting here?" he asked. True, he was somewhat annoyed. But the positive side was that he hadn't heard a metaphorical lecture since the stripper-bar.

"Oh? No aim, just hungry."

"How the hell can you be hungry after all of that?"

She only gave him a sneering glare, and continued to eat. Ryan was still debating within himself whether or not he should, or rather could, go through with this. What was his plan? What was this going to solve?

Looking out of the window into the darkness of the night's rain, only lit by florescent lights, he felt a hard reality hit him. He had actually killed a man. Sure, the situation was "kill-or-be-killed", but it didn't change the fact. Maybe Caleb was right? He was just angry and wanted to blame someone, but now he wasn't sure he had the stomach for it.

"Look, don't let your first kill bother you too much..." she said. He looked up, and she smiled. "Please, you think I'm blind? I could see a noobi from a mile away-You've got amateur written all over you."

It also bothered him that she discussed these things so casually. He leaned on his elbows, and looked her in the eye. The blue glow from the neon sign outside complimented her features, it truly did.

"So when was your...y'know..."

"Me? I was six." she said. The guy had returned with her "Fat-Ass" sized meal, which made Ryan wonder exactly how much food could she intake? She couldn't have been human, or she'd be dead...

"So what's _your_ plan?" she asked him. He hadn't really thought about it. He had really only been going with whatever had happened.

"I-I don't know." he replied. She would have applauded his honesty, if she wasn't blinded by his stupidity. "You must truly wanna die..." she said, a little off-handedly.

"Listen to me, kid. If you learn anything in this business, know that you absolutely have to plan every aspect to these things." she told him.

"First of all," he began, finally poking at the fries on his plate, "I'm in it for business. Secondly, I don't plan anything...I just go with it." he said. She only stared back, saying nothing, yet still seeming intrigued in the boy before her.

"Ah. Instinct, is it?" she laughed. Rolling her eyes, she stood, and stretched. "Ugh. These things are killing me..." she said, taking off the high heels from the bar-maids uniform.

"I'm just going to the bathroom. Don't go anywhere..." she told him. Yeah, like he could. His car was long gone, and she had the keys to hers. Plus, even though he did know how to hot-wire a vehicle, it only worked on older models, and hers was definitely new.

Then, outside, he saw someone. Running in the rain. A young woman in a long, white, traditional bridal gown was running. She finally came to a stop just outside of the window Ryan was sitting by. She hadn't noticed him, for her attention wasn't particularly focused on anything.

She stood in the rain, just outside the cheap diner, breathing heavily, and obviously crying. Mascara and make-up running her cheeks, she slumped against the brick wall, and slid to sit on the side walk.

Ryan, being only human, couldn't help feel sorry for her. He looked to the women's bathroom door, which was still closed, and she hadn't come out yet. He stood and made his way to the double doors, pushing one open.

The rain was actually warm against his face. He had to wonder what the hell was up with this psycho weather? He slowly walked up to her, and kneeled down by her side.

She glanced up to him, and stared in uncertainty. He offered her his hand, which was rejected by remaining un-taken. Taking this as incentive, he slumped beside her, and together they sat in the rain, not a word exchanged.

She lifted her left hand, and looked at the ring on her left hand. She quickly, in a rage, tried to slip the ring off. Once she did manage to get the blatantly expensive jewelry off of her hand, she threw it hard across the parking lot, bouncing across the dark, soaked granite.

"What do you do when the life you thought you had just...shatters?" she asked. She looked at him, hazel eyes shimmering in the faint neon light of the diner's sign.

He remained silent, wishing he had some advice to give her that sounded sane. Honestly, his method of going on revenge was probably a completely different situation than hers. Having nothing good to say, he shrugged.

"I thought it was all unbreakable. I thought absolutely nothing would, or could, go wrong." she voiced. He knew the feeling.

"You've probably never been in love - what am I saying..." she said. Ryan slowly turned his head to look at the pitiful creature next to him. "Actually, I have." he said.

He held up his left hand, showing her the small ring around his ring finger. She looked, and then turned her eyes to his. "I'm sorry, I just assumed...well, you don't look older than twenty, so..."

"You're right. I'm eighteen." he told her. "But don't assume something before you think it through." he snapped. Okay, so he didn't mean to go off on her, she was already a wreck. At least he hadn't yelled at her.

"Well I'm happy for you." she said. He stared off into the abyss, and thought. "Actually, I just lost them...Gun shot to the neck." he said.

She remained completely silent now, expression unchanged. He didn't blame her. "The universe just loves to fuck with your head, doesn't it?" he said. He leaned his head against the wall, and closed his eyes.

"Tell me about it. I'm a novelist. I had just finished the third installment of my series, and then my computer got a virus. I had it back up on a floppy, which my fiancé erased un-knowingly. Then I find out my brother's in a coma, my "EX" fiancé turns out to be having an affair with two other women, and the guy I was actually in love with turns out to be gay. All of this in one day; today. My wedding day.

"So basically, I'm broke, and lost." she said. "But, losing your wife, that's harsh..." she said sympathetically, and he only smiled. He hadn't told her that "They" were a guy, but Seth his "Wife"? It was a little occidental.

"Actually, the person I was in 'love' with..." he began. Then he figured he'd just pull out his wallet. Thankfully, he had a plastic cover over it to help prevent some water damage. He handed the photo over to her, and she paused.

"I'm sorry, I didn't take you for a...Well, when I said the part about the guy earlier, I didn't mean there's anything wrong with it, I just-"

"It's okay." he told her.

"Didn't I tell you not to go anywhere?" he heard. That damn screeching voice of hers just seemed to carry on and stab your ears.

"Um, Bride, this is George, George this is..." he said. She slowly stood, and brushed off her dress. "Christine." she said. "So, George, are you a..."

"A what?"

"Well, if you're with him, I'm only guessing...that you're a...man?"

"Oh HELL No! You think any man could ever look this good?" she shouted.

"Well, your name is George, and he...well."

"My name's short for Georgia." she told her. Ryan laughed and finally stood as well. "I told you not to assume things, didn't I?" he laughed.

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"Guess what? I get out of here tomorrow." she told him. He smiled, and sat beside the bed. "That's great to hear..." he replied.

She was surprised he had come to see her everyday, same time, same smile. Matt had a way, she admitted.

"It's also perfect timing. Of course, I can only walk so far before the pain really hits me, but tomorrow's by best friend's funeral." she said. The light in her seemed to fade at that moment, but then she offered a feeble smile. Even when she had saddened, she was still beautiful.

"I was wondering...If you don't mind...If you'd come with me?"

"Wow...I dunno, a funeral? I mean, it's a little sudden - I don't even have anything to wear." he said. She rolled her eyes, and tapped him on the shoulder.

She took the bowl of what was left of her soup, and sat it on the table. Suddenly, his cell rang, and he stood to take it out of his pocket. He glanced at the screen, and held up a hand. "I'll be right back, I swear, I just have to take this call." he told her.

She nodded, and then suddenly felt his lips on her forehead, and then he was gone. She sat quietly minding her own business, and glancing around the room, then out the window. It was still raining hard, and she had to wonder what the hell was up with this bi-polar weather?

Then she heard him raise his voice, and then it was once again lowered. Must've heard something he didn't agree with, she thought.

She then slid her legs over the side, and slowly put herself in the wheelchair next to the bed. With him around, she had gotten pretty good at the whole wheelchair scene.

She rolled herself over to the window, and looked up to the sky. The clouds covered any chances of her seeing any stars, but she then glanced down to the curb. There was the spot where, not too distantly, they had shared their first kiss.

Summer was a strong person, this was true, and usually people needed to lean on her. But every once in a while, she needed to break down, and it seemed Matt had become her very own crutch. It was nice to be on the other side of the mirror for a change.

In walked Matt, looking a little concerned. She turned the chair, and rolled up to him. "What's wrong?" she asked him. He snapped out of whatever thought he had, and looked to her. He smiled. "Nothing." he told her.

"Just a small emergency. I kinda have to go..."

It was a little disappointing, but he did have a job after all. And that job happened to be paying for all the little gifts he brought her.

With this, he left. Nothing else said, just gone. And, so, the room did seem much larger, and quieter than before. She only rolled herself to the bed, and climbed up on the side, rolling onto her back. Tomorrow, and she'd be free.

Seth's funeral was particularly hard to think of, only because it wouldn't be the first friend that's held one. Depressing, yes.

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It seemed that George wasn't going anywhere, but he didn't know why she was sticking around. She seemed content, staring out the window like a child in "aw". In fact, she never seemed to be in a downed mood, nor did she seem to have temper control, among other things...

This was the quietest stretch of time he'd seen out of the girl. She even listened to the oddest music. She had a CD called the "Ditty Bops", which sounded like some kindergarten folk-song.

"We're not far from the airport..." he said, off handedly. She meerly glanced, and then went right back to listening to her song, "Wishful Thinking".

He only shook his head, and drove on. In nature, the dangerous predators always have a warning appearance. Patterns, colors like red and black, etc. But it's been a fact that the even more dangerous ones are the ones that are concealing. So, naturally, Ryan had to wonder exactly how dangerous was George?

She seemed innocent, with her fun-loving, easy going, childish personality, and that was what made her an enigma. Her mood-swings were endless...

"We should sleep there." she said, pointing out a motel to the side of the road in the distance.

"What? Why?"

"Just pull in." she said. "We're going to the airport." he told her. She raised her brow, and dared him to pass the small, and quite abhorrent structure. He chose to keep his eyes on the road, and just as intended, passed the place.

In triumph, he turned to face the girl, and found that things hadn't turned out exactly how he thought it would. She leapt toward him, and took the wheel. Of course, no one would expect such a brash move, so he was taken aback.

She made a screeching "U" turn, in the middle of the highway, and they were soon in the parking lot of the building. Swerving to a halt, he caught his breath.

"You're paying, by the way - and I'm getting MY OWN room..." she told him as she stood out of the car, which was hers, so any problems that may have taken effect was her fault. "What the hell is wrong with you!" he yelled after her.

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Champagne was a nice companion, that it was. At least Marrisa seemed to think so. Of course, champagne wasn't a living, breathing thing, but it was more satisfying than her husband could ever be.  
She looked around to all the happy little couples. All young, of course, or else they wouldn't be so chipper and cheerful. Sharing bites, laughing, discussing every aspect of their meaningless little lives. They'll wake up one day and realize that their lives have passed by, wasted by marriage.

Candle light was nice, dim was more the word, to conceal her tears, but show off her beauty. She was seated, alone, at the fourth table along the wall. The table she found the most beautiful in the entire restaurant, but never got the chance to enjoy due to her husband hating the spot. But he wasn't here to

tell her no. Now she could sit here as much as she goddamn very well pleased.

"More, miss?" she heard. She glanced to her left where the young man stood. She held out her glass, and he tipped the mouth of the bottle. Out poured the golden liquid, and she looked at his face.  
"Champagne is for celebrating, and that's what I'm doing." she said, wiping away the last stream of salty tears. He was young, maybe twenty one. Her glass full, he lifted the bottle and stopped.

"So what's the occasion?" he asked. She took one long drink and sat the glass on the table. "My husband's dead." she replied. He then sat down opposite of her, and the bottle as well.

"I'm sorry to hear that." he said.

"Don't be." she told him, taking another drink, finishing off the glass. "He used to beat me whenever he got drunk, which was every night. So last week he was out in the back yard and I just pushed him right in the wood-chipper." She said, motioning with her free hand the pushing motion, and then watching the air before her as if watching him fall in.

"I told the police he fell in - do you mind?" she said, pushing her glass forward once more. He quickly grabbed the bottle and poured another glass.

"So anyway, those little brat kids of his got his company, his "empire", but I got half of the money and his life insurance settlement." she said. She swirled the glass around, and watched the liquid swish around.  
"So how much did you make off with?" he asked. She smiled and took another swig. "It all came out to a

grand total of eight hundred and ninety-seven..."

"Eh, should've been more, with him beating on you and all...but eight hundred and ninety-seven thousand's almost a million, so..." he said, leaning back in the seat. She shook her head. "No no no...You didn't get it. Eight hundred and ninety-seven million dollars."

"Holy shit!" he yelled. The chatter that had been flowing had come to a slight pause, and then continued.

"Sorry." he said.

She shook her head, and waved her hand. "It's alright. Drink with me." she told him.

"Actually, I've got to..."

"Nonsense. You sit there and pour yourself a drink." she said. He shrugged, and did as he was told.  
"You know, it's ironic..." she said as she stared at the glass. He looked around. "What?"

"Read the label on the bottle." she told him, and looked around. He lifted the bottle, and read; GORMLEY GOURMET - THE FINEST THING IN LIFE IS LIFE ITSELF. He looked back up to her, who had begun to laugh.

"Here I am, drinking to his death with his own champagne...There's the comedy."

"Your husband was the Gormley Gourmet king?" he said. The phrase, with her explanation did make the situation comical, he admitted. She nodded.

"Marrisa Gormley. Married to the sonofabitch for seven years...But, it all worked out in the end. I'm rich and the bastard's manure." she smiled. Sure, it was a little disturbing how comfortable she was about openly being a murderer. But he did admire how well she handled some things.

"So, what's your story?" she asked.

"Uh -Well, I came here from Utah to try and make a living, and here I am." he said. She gave him a look of sorts, and then stared. "But what's your story?"

"I just told you."

"No, you just told me background information. But not your story. There must be a reason that you left, or that you've stayed here for as long as you've been here."

"I came her because it's far enough from Utah. I just couldn't stand living there." he said.

"Ah, so what, you had a bad relationship or something?"

"No, I grew up in a town called Roy. Seven sisters, only boy, two parents, etc. Of course I was raised Mormon, but I don't practice it or claim it...It's just that living there kinda makes you feel like you're going nowhere...So I got away. Try to make a name for myself. Been here almost two years."

"And you're still working here?" she asked. He played mock-hurt, but she just continued to drink. "So what is it that you do?"

"I paint and draw."

"How typical...everybody's trying to get rich quick with that nowadays."

"Yeah, well it's what I'm good at." he said. He scratched his head, and looked around. "I had a good teacher, and a natural talent, so I guess it's my life's passion."

"Oh I see." she said. It was as if she was observing him. He found it a bit strange, but she seemed a little off-center herself. Or she could just be mourning in her own way, who knows.

"So what about you?" He asked. "Well," she began. "I came here from Madrid, and worked as a waitress, until I met my husband, and since then I had been a house wife. No kids, just those bastard little step children, but they're all grown up and on their own."

"I can tell by your accent that you came from some Spanish-speaking country." he told her. "How do you know I'm not from here, and was just raised speaking Spanish?"

"I just can." he replied. She was a little skeptical about his answer, but nodded all the same. "However, you still didn't tell me your story."

"I know." she winked. "Well, I have to go, but it was nice talking to you anyway." she told him. She pulled out a bill, and laid it on the table. "Keep the change." she told him. He took the bill, and examined it - if she cheated him, it'd be out of his own pocket.

Then his eyes widened as he saw the amount. On all four corners, it read 100,000. Then there was a loud flash, and he fell to the table, his blood clutching the cloth in vein. She looked at the mess of brain, blood, and mucus. In fact, on of his eyes was on the ground, apparently focused on her.

The restaurant became a flustered bustle, and she put the gun back into her purse. Target destroyed, and she was finished. already gone.

As she was driving down the freeway, there came a call to her small, red phone.

"Hello Regan. The job's done." she said. She knew who it was, because it was a private phone. "Easy enough, but the kid was a little bland..." she added.

"I know I promised you the week off, but you're being re-assigned." He told her. She rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"So who's the new target?"

"A young man by the name of Ryan Atwood. All information is being sent to your laptop."

"Another kid, eh? Man...You're getting a little bitter toward today's youth, you know that?"

"The boss want this one done without question."

"Oh I see. That important?"

There was a click, and she tossed the phone on the seat. Ass, she thought. With one hand, since she _was_ driving, she lifted the laptop screen on the dashboard, and the file automatically opened.

"Ryan huh? Blonde hair, yadda yadda yadda, blood type O-positive...California? Damn..." She really didn't want to travel to California, but she had no choice. But if he was as important as Regan made him out to be, then the pay-off will be of worth.

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"Why the hell are we even here?" he asked. He had debated with himself whether or not he really wanted to know. He hadn't known George long, but knew that whatever came form her mind was disturbing enough.

"I've got a friend that's going to meet us."

"You're involving other people?" he sighed. "Can I at least know who it is? Is it someone I already know?"

"Hmm...that's a trick question. Her name's Brody, and you've probably her of her..."

"Brody? That's it?"

"What? She asked, sitting on the edge of HIS bed. She bitched about getting her own room, but hadn't set foot in it yet.

"Nothing, I was just expecting you to start telling me her life story..."

"Well, if you reeaaally want it..."

"No, it's fine!" he rushed in.

"Her name's Brody, she's from Melbourne

Fitzroy, Melbourne Fitzroy, Melbourne

She grew up on Bell street, then on Bennett street

Her mom kicked out her dad for battery

Found a way, found a way,

She found a way out of spiritual penury"

"-Was a single mother in an urban struggle, yeah yeah. I know the song." he interrupted. She shrugged.

"Wait. You've gotta be kidding me...Brody Dalle, the front man, er-woman, for the Distillers is coming to meet us here?"

"Yep."

"How the hell do you even know her?"

"Hey, I know people, okay? Jeez, lay off my damn case..."

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A/N: Will George turn out to be secretly stable, or is she really just a moody-psycho? Will Ryan ever get to the Airport? Will Brody Dalle (for those of you who actually know her) really be in the next chapter? So many questions...and such a lazy author...


End file.
